quartet
Americannoun
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quartets
plural
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any group of four persons or things.
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an organized group of four singers or players.
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a musical composition for four voices or instruments.
noun
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a group of four singers or instrumentalists or a piece of music composed for such a group See string quartet
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any group of four
a quartet of fast bowlers
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of quartet
1765–75; < Italian quartetto, diminutive of quarto < Latin quartus fourth
Explanation
A quartet is a musical group with four members. If you play the viola, you might form a string quartet with two violinists and a cellist. You can use the noun quartet to describe your four-person singing group, and you can also use it to talk about the piece of music you're performing, if it's written specifically for four voices or instruments. The word quartet comes from the Italian quarto, or "fourth," which in turn has it roots in the Latin quartus, also meaning "fourth."
Vocabulary lists containing quartet
Music - Introductory
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Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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Music - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The “Clavado En Un Bar” quartet has sold more than 45 million records, won four Grammys and eight Latin Grammys and were nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last February.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
“One Man” is a gorgeous slice of baroque pop, with acoustic guitar and a string quartet, and on the swooning ballad “Where Is Gone?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
And while judging them against Australia's fearsome attack, the most successful quartet Test cricket has seen, is hardly fair, South Africa's bowlers lacked the relentless pressure of their counterparts.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
He worked through the music of that first new release, joined by its quartet members: guitarist Max Light, bassist Walter Stinson and drummer Jon Starks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Blevins also sings in a quartet called the Gospel Gentlemen.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
"You were on our bowling teams, our barbershop quartets, our dad rock cover bands," said Homer.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
ANAHEIM, Calif.—Walt Disney designed Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. to transport visitors out of the modern world into a family-friendly fantasy packed with old-fashioned storefronts and barbershop quartets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
String quartets strummed their way through classical covers of pop hits.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2026
De Longe had set up desks in quartets and placed nameplates on each one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2025
String quartets and vocal stylists soared across the skies with a cabin full of contented passengers.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
